Choose Coimbra if you love libraries, music and a lively old university town: its university, founded in 1290, holds the gilded Joanina Library and sits on a hilltop listed by UNESCO. Choose Tomar if the Knights Templar and Portugal’s age of discovery draw you in: its Convent of Christ, also UNESCO-listed, is one of the most remarkable buildings in the country. The two towns are under an hour apart by road, so with a private driver you can see both in one day.
We have answered this question for American travelers since 2002, and our planners’ answer depends on what you love, so here is how each town plays to different tastes.
Who will love Coimbra?
Travelers who enjoy a city with energy. Coimbra’s students wear black capes on ceremonial days, and the city has its own style of fado, sung by men in a more lyrical register than Lisbon’s. The Joanina Library, a baroque room of gilded wood and 18th-century books, keeps a small colony of bats that hunt the insects that would damage the books. Below the university, the old town drops through steep lanes to the Mondego River, past Roman, medieval and baroque layers.
Who will love Tomar?
Travelers who prefer a quieter, storybook town. The Knights Templar founded their castle here in 1160, and the round Charola at the heart of the Convent of Christ was their church. Later the Order of Christ, heir to the Templars, financed Portugal’s voyages of discovery, and the convent’s famous Manueline window is carved with ropes, coral and sea creatures. Below the hill, Tomar’s old town is calm and walkable, with cafes along the Nabão River.
Can you visit Tomar from Coimbra in a day?
Yes. With a private driver, a full day covers Tomar’s Convent of Christ, lunch in town, and the Monastery of Batalha on the way back toward Coimbra or on to Lisbon. Our guide to Portugal’s great monasteries covers Batalha, Alcobaça and Jerónimos too.
Where should you stay?
Most of our travelers visit Tomar as a day stop and sleep in Coimbra, Lisbon or Porto, where our planners choose from vetted luxury five-star and deluxe four-star boutique hotels. If Tomar’s Festa dos Tabuleiros falls during your trip, held every four years in early July, your planner arranges the day around the procession.
Can’t choose? Tell your planner what you love, and we fit one or both towns into your route through Portugal.
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Tell us what you love, and your private planner organizes every detail, from hotels and guides to trains and dinner reservations, so your time goes to the moments you came for.
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